I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?

e2moon

Senior Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 1:57a

h8py said: I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?

I guess it depends - lately there have been lots of free oil deals here...

manly

Charter Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 5:05a

argh, missed the Craftsman cap bottle opener by less than a day.

Might have to settle for this instead.

WalterGuy

Senior Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 6:05a

In today's hyper-complex world there are fewer and fewer physical tasks the average Joe can accomplish without a lot of training and specialized skills. Oil changes (VW excepted) and tire rotations are one of them and they give good physical exercise, plus you get to do your own personal inspection of the rest of the car. Perhaps I'm not saving so much anymore (unless I gloom onto one of the multitude of free oil deals here recently) but I'll continue changing my own oil most of the time well into my golden years. The psychic benefits alone are worth it.

SlamminMOFO

Senior Member - 3K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 6:59a

h8py said: I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?

My answer to the missed part is KNOWING what type of oil you are actually getting by doing it yourself and KNOWING that you put a quality oil filter back on.

brotherhpj

Senior Member - 4K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 7:17a

wife took the van along time ago to WalMart for an oil change without my knowledge. just as soon as she told me i went and checked the work WalMart did. i first noticed a nice new filter hanging from the motor but when i pulled the dipstick it was black as coal. that never replaced the oil as in oil change. never again i always do my own then i know its don right.

VirginiaDC

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 7:43a

If you pay attention to rebates and specials you can change your oil for pretty close to free. If you have a large enough waste oil container, you can do 3-4 oil changes before you take the used oil back to Advance Auto and dump it into their waste barrel. Plus Sometimes a man needs to be a man...

zenci

Ancient Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 7:56a

looks like a quality tool. i got my bmw's oil changed with a coupon one time and the engine started to knock and shake. i changed the oil myself right afterwards to something i know and everything was back to normal. so they use crappy oil especially for the coupons. i would ask oil and filter brands they use if i used a coupon.

Red55

Senior Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 8:23a

Bought a Honda off a very good friend . . . he had paid for oil changes on the car and it took a pipe on the end of a socket wrench with the driver's side tire off to free the oil drain plug! A lot of the guys who do the oil changes use an air impact gun to tighten the oil plug down. If you ask them if they torque to spec . .. you'll get some funny looks. So if you like "trainees" doing your oil changes or plain "idiots" go ahead and get'er done. :QNo longer enjoy climbing under the car, but know it's done right, with the proper fluids and filter. Switch to synthetics and change the oil at 5k instead of 3k. About the same cost, just better oil and less changes. Deposing of oil? A true fat walleter would be burning it in their waste oil boiler.

rmilas

Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 9:10a

I've been there too! I can do a complete oil change in about 15 minutes and I don't need a breaker bar to take off the drain plug.

arribasn

Senior Member - 5K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 9:22a

rmilas said: I've been there too! I can do a complete oil change in about 15 minutes and I don't need a breaker bar to take off the drain plug.Agree, it takes me less time to change the oil than to drive to a quality oil change shop that you can sorta trust (ie not jiffylube, etc) and back (not counting the time you waste waiting there). Around here they will pick up your used oil at the curb with the weekly trash pick-up so its really no chore at all.

wildbottom

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 9:48a

brotherhpj said: wife took the van along time ago to WalMart for an oil change without my knowledge. just as soon as she told me i went and checked the work WalMart did. i first noticed a nice new filter hanging from the motor but when i pulled the dipstick it was black as coal. that never replaced the oil as in oil change. never again i always do my own then i know its don right.That's sad. I had Toyota dealerships changed my oil and filter over 10 times. Twice they filled it on the high level. That's bad for engine and fuel economy. Last time they over tighten my oil filter. I had to use a long breaker bar to break it loose when I change it myself. And when I changed my friend's oil recently, the oil filter spin off with no pressure at all. That's bad. Engine would have been toast if that thing fell off. And she has been taking it to that oil change place for over 10 years.

liljose13

Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:08a

That's the same reason I do my own. I just use synthetic with a high quality filter and go 7500. Sure you can get an oil change for $20, but the wait and the risk of some 18yo minimum wage worker make it an easy decision for me. It takes me 20 minutes, and a 10 minute drive to dispose of the oil. Plus a full synthetic oil change runs me about $30.

SlamminMOFO

Senior Member - 3K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:20a

wildbottom said: brotherhpj said: wife took the van along time ago to WalMart for an oil change without my knowledge. just as soon as she told me i went and checked the work WalMart did. i first noticed a nice new filter hanging from the motor but when i pulled the dipstick it was black as coal. that never replaced the oil as in oil change. never again i always do my own then i know its don right.That's sad. I had Toyota dealerships changed my oil and filter over 10 times. Twice they filled it on the high level. That's bad for engine and fuel economy. Last time they over tighten my oil filter. I had to use a long breaker bar to break it loose when I change it myself. And when I changed my friend's oil recently, the oil filter spin off with no pressure at all. That's bad. Engine would have been toast if that thing fell off. And she has been taking it to that oil change place for over 10 years.

What did the manager say when you brought it to his attention?

kenyee

Senior Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:39a

I've had a dealer put on the wrong kind of filter (paper instead of fleece...the paper ones don't filter out contaminants well enough for the 10K oil changes). So I'm in the camp of DIY as well.If your oil filter is up top, you can just get a Mityvac and suck oil out like the dealers do for oil changes...no need to crawl underneath at all...

IWlkw3

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:42a

The nearest Toyota dealer to me couldn't tell me anything about the oil they use....just it's what Toyota recommends. Came out of a big drum. Does make one wonder about their competence. I've been having recommended service from them since I bought a near new hybrid Camry from a private party moving to a big promotion job in Munich, Germany and was able to transfer their 100K Toyota warranty.

Now I buy my own Synthetic 0W-30 Mobil One for them to use and own filter and they give me a reasonable allowance on the price. Of course once when I got my car back the tires had 45 pounds in them.... Wondered why driving it home seemed like they'd replaced the tires with wooden ones.

Only an apology by the service manager. I suspect the tech working on it when rotating the tires used the air compressor on them and never did a walk around with a gauge to put the tires to the proper pressure which is low to mid 30 lbs for me to continue to get the 35+ mpg that I'm used to.

I still change the oil myself on my wife's older Corolla. And we have curbside pickup of the used oil by the weekly Waste and Recycling company that we are forced to pay for. Used to be annoying to have to take the oil to one of the stores that recycled it free.

Gee brings back memories of the 1950s when I changed my Model A oil every 1,000 miles and crawled around with the grease gun to get to the grease fittings.

Things have SURE CHANGED!

fshaia

Senior Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:47a

h8py said: I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?

You miss getting a quality oil filter and maybe quality oil, You can pick up a purolator pure one when it is NOT on sale for $6. (pure one is one of the best oil filters, in MHO) right now pep boys has a special for a brand name oil and a purolator for $15.99 it says you can add a purolator classic oil filter, but they will let you add the pure one for the same price.

Plus, oil change places overfill, and do they use a torque wrench on the oil drain plug ?

Like in my motorcycle, I will not let anyone touch it, unless it is a recall etc ...

NoMoneyInMyWallet

Tired Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 10:55a

kenyee said: If your oil filter is up top, you can just get a Mityvac and suck oil out like the dealers do for oil changes...no need to crawl underneath at all...Filter is on top and a fumoto drain valve is underneath.

DenverDiver

Senior Member - 4K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 11:23a

NoMoneyInMyWallet said: kenyee said: If your oil filter is up top, you can just get a Mityvac and suck oil out like the dealers do for oil changes...no need to crawl underneath at all...Filter is on top and a fumoto drain valve is underneath.

Yep my car sits high enough I dont even need to jack it up. Just get under the car and twist the fumoto valve open.

brotherhpj said: wife took the van along time ago to WalMart for an oil change without my knowledge. just as soon as she told me i went and checked the work WalMart did. i first noticed a nice new filter hanging from the motor but when i pulled the dipstick it was black as coal. that never replaced the oil as in oil change. never again i always do my own then i know its don right.

IW said: ...Now I buy my own Synthetic 0W-30 Mobil One for them to use and own filter and they give me a reasonable allowance on the price...

I started using synthetic oil several years ago because I generally forget to stick to a 7500 mile/6month schedule for oil & filter changes. It actually turns out to be 2500 miles because I only put about 4000 miles a year on the one car. I pretty much stick to Costco Mobil 1 oil and Amazon Mobil 1 filters (when on sale for $7-8 shipped.)

I tried what this guy does and asked at least a half dozen shops who offer $20-25 oil, filter and rotation specials if they'd use my products if I paid them full asking price (just to save me the labor and aggravation). Absolutely none of them would do it. Liability using 3rd party parts was the most common excuse. "We don't want to be responsible if the filter falls off when you're driving away." Since a full synthetic change goes for $75 - 90 around here and it costs me $35, I'm back to doing it myself. The tire rotation is a PITA but like one guy said, it's probably good exercise. And I know the pressure is where I want it to be.

e1d1

Happy Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 12:18p

h8py said: I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?As others have already mentioned: You KNOW what kind of oil and filter is going on your car. Also I've heard too many horror stories from my friends and coworkers.With a quick search you can read about occasionally finding cross threaded and seized drain plugs and filters, oil leaking out etc.

It's not that hard to change your oil. Many people are not mechanically inclined which is no fault and probably best to let someone else do it. If I screw something up myself I know what happened.

e1d1

Happy Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 12:44p

VirginiaDC said: If you pay attention to rebates and specials you can change your oil for pretty close to free. If you have a large enough waste oil container, you can do 3-4 oil changes before you take the used oil back to Advance Auto and dump it into their waste barrel. Plus Sometimes a man needs to be a man...It would of been better if I posted this on it's own and not a reply...

You can also take your used oil to NAPA. Also, in addition to used oil...Used oil filters, antifreeze, batteries, transmission and possibly brake fluid can be taken to the Recycle Center at your local Solid Waste facility. Oil containers currently have to go in the regular garbage even if you drain them completely. My recyclers wont accept them as they are toxic.

sidewinder33625

Senior Member - 3K

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 2:12p

high school kids that work at those oil change places usually don't give a damn about quality work. Heck even with regular techs working on oil changes they can screw things up. Case in point, i noticed vibration and straining from my engine after oil change at the dealer (should have known better but it came included as part of new car purchase). Come to find out apparently they didn't drain the old oil before filling with new oil and when i checked the dipstick it was over an inch above the full mark. Ever since then, the engine vibrates at 1000rpm and the dealer claims it is working as designed. This is one of the reasons i do my own oil changes not to mention using quality synthetic to extend the oil change interval. by the way, about the only time i need an oil filter wrench is when removing filter for the 1st time on the new car. After that a good hand tightening is all that is needed on these filters.

Sothis

Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 4:02p

"I used to change my own oils, but I didn't think it saved me much money. With a coupon, a conventional oil change is about 25. DIY costs about 15-20 and a trip to dump the used oil. What do I miss?"

Oh brother, I had to answer this one! You miss hearing "Uh, y'know yer CV joint boot is torn there. We fix those."

That way to keep your vehicle is to keep it out of the hands of mechanics. Do as much of the maintenance as you can as often as it needs to be done YOURSELF.

This isn't meant to slander honest mechanics (if any), but generally they don't care about your car, they just want your money. And look! Here you come for their $20 oil change. And while we're at it, why don't you just let their paroled cousin poke around the car you/your wife rely on every day?

Bad attitude? Sorry...

h8py

Addicted Member

posted: Mar. 17, 2013 @ 4:33p

All very true and I do miss getting my hands (and sometimes face) dirty. It's just I live in PA and changing oil in cold unheated garage is getting hard for my aging body.

It's a conventional oil filter plus a bypass filter in a standard spin-on can form factor. Yes, the filter is more expensive, but you make it up in longer change intervals. It's better for your engine and you save money.

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